CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Embassy Suites Hotels and developer BPR Properties have begun construction on Embassy Suites Charlotte Uptown, a 250-suite hotel at 401 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The hotel, which will feature 7,000 square feet of meeting space and an on-site restaurant, is slated to open in June 2016. The hotel will be the ninth Embassy Suites in North Carolina, and it will feature a 24-hour fitness center, business center and an indoor pool.
Southeast
SANFORD, FLA. — CBRE has arranged the sale of Boulevard Plaza, a 107,117-square-foot shopping center located at 300 W. Lake Mary Blvd. in Sanford. Branch Properties purchased the asset from The Sandefur Cos. for $12.2 million. The property is leased to CVS/pharmacy, Burger King, Papa John’s, Qdoba, H&R Block and Trustco Bank. Albertson’s, Boulevard Plaza’s anchor tenant that ceased operations in 2010, continues to pay its rent obligations. Cliff Taylor and Daniel Baker of CBRE represented The Sandefur Cos. in the transaction.
WESLEY CHAPEL, FLA. — Franklin Street Real Estate Services has brokered the $2.4 million sale of a Tuffy Auto Center and Dairy Queen at 27329 Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Wesley Chapel. The sale represents the second half of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange for the buyer, a Kentucky-based corporation. Rafeal Wright and Jonathan Graber of Franklin Street represented the seller, J&J Wesley Chapel LLC, an Illinois-based company. Franklin Street also procured the buyer.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Greysteel Co. has brokered the sale of Minnesota Flats, a 16-unit multifamily property located at 1840 Minnesota Ave. S.E. in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood. Ari Firoozabadi, Kyle Tangney, John Mullen, Caleb Brown, Lance Ahmadian, Mike Bediones and Jake Ying of Greysteel represented the seller, Washington Living Trust, in the transaction.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — URS Capital Partners has acquired Pepperhill & Palmetto Apartments, a 266-unit apartment community in Charleston. The property will soon be renamed Ashley Village. The New York-based investor purchased the asset using a mix of debt and private equity. Chris Kinder of CK Realty Partners arranged Fannie Mae financing on behalf of URS. Ashley Village is the second Charleston apartment community that URS has purchased in the past 12 months.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Plaza Construction has begun building two luxury condominium communities in South Beach for The Related Group. The properties include the $187 million One Ocean and the $88 million Marea condominiums. Enrique Norten of Ten Arquitectos and The Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership designed the seven-story, 275,141-square-foot One Ocean. Sieger Suarez designed the six-story, 190,654-square-foot Marea community as well. Working on both projects, Enzo Enea is the landscape architect and Yabu Pushelberg is the interior designer. The two condominium projects are slated for completion in 2015. Plaza Construction is the general contractor on a total of four projects for The Related Group totaling $498 million. The other two communities include the $118 million, 42-story Icon Bay in Miami’s Biscayne Corridor and the $105 million, 42-story Millecento Residences by Pininfarina.
ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION, MD. — Somerset Construction Co. and OA Partners have broken ground on Annapolis Junction Town Center, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development in Annapolis Junction, equidistant from Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The $180 million property will feature 100,000 square feet of Class A office space, 416 luxury apartment residences, a 150-room hotel, 17,250 square feet of retail space and a new transit station for the Maryland Rail Commuter line featuring a 700-space parking garage. The MARC station and parking garage will open in the fall of this year, and the retail, office, hotel and apartment components will open in 2016. The project team includes office developer Corporate Office Properties Trust, residential and retail developer Southern Management Corp. and general contractor Whiting-Turner Construction Co.
ATLANTA — Houlihan-Parnes Realtors LLC has closed a $34 million loan for The Preserve at Legacy Park, a 498-unit apartment community in Atlanta. The property, built in 2001, is 98 percent occupied. Fred Stahl and Sheldon Stahl of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors LLC originated the 10-year loan with a fixed interest rate of 4.45 percent.
MIAMI — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $11.6 million sale of Plaza Del Rey, a 50,186-square-foot shopping center located at 10000 W. Flagler St. in Miami, approximately one mile from Florida International University. The property is 95 percent leased to tenants such as Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Rent-A-Center, T-Mobile and Vicky Bakery. Drew Kristol and Kirk Olson of Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office represented the seller and the buyer, both limited liability companies based in Miami.
STOCKBRIDGE, GA. — Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. has assumed the contract to acquire Freeway Junction, a 156,834-square-foot shopping center in Atlanta suburb Stockbridge, for $10.5 million. Wheeler REIT (NASDAQ: WHLR) is assuming the contract from Wheeler Interests LLC, an affiliated company. The shopping center, located along Georgia Highway 138, is 95.5 percent leased to tenants such as Northern Tool + Equipment, Goodwill, Ollie’s, Farmer’s Furniture, Cato Fashion, Citi Trends and Jackson-Hewitt.